War monitors have questioned Israel’s claim of “dismantling” Hamas’s battalions in northern Gaza.
In their latest battlefield assessment, US-based think tanks; Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), stated that the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant said on February 5, 2024, that Israeli operations have dismantled 18 of 24 Hamas battalions, rendering them “no longer functional as fighting military” organizations.
They also stated the Israeli military previously announced that they had “dismantled” all of Hamas’ battalions in the northern Gaza Strip on January 6, 2024.
The war monitors said that ongoing operations by Palestinian fighters in the west of Gaza City had spurred Israel to mobilise a division-sized force to re-clear the city over the past week.
“Gallant and the [Israeli military] have not identified a precise definition for ‘dismantle’, the ISW/CTP said.
“The continued Palestinian militia attacks in the northern Strip demonstrate the risk posed by small, networked military cells,” the monitors said.
They added, “These cells remain capable of reorganizing into an embryonic military structure.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have intensified their siege of the Nasser Hospital – the main medical facility in southern Khan Younis – further endangering the lives of 300 medical staff, 450 patients and an estimated 10,000 displaced people sheltering in the surrounding compound, the UN reports.
Based on an announcement from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also reports that Nasser Hospital has fuel reserves for just four more days of power. There is already a severe shortage of surgical supplies and sutures.
According to the ministry, heavy fighting that started two weeks ago in the vicinity of Nasser and the Al Amal Hospital continues.
Between Monday and Tuesday afternoons, a further 107 Palestinians were killed and 143 wounded in Gaza, according to the ministry.
Separately, Syria’s state-run news agency announced that the Israeli military launched air strikes on the city of Homs and surrounding countryside, “killing a number of civilians” and injuring several more.
Israeli warplanes fired missiles from north of the Lebanese city of Tripoli at about 3am local time [00:00 GMT], targeting several sites in Homs and the surrounding area.
The attacks targeted Syrian army outposts and the Shayrat Airbase, a news agency stated, citing local sources.
Israel has escalated its attacks on Syria since October, as regional tensions have grown between Israel and Iran-backed groups in neighbouring Syria and Lebanon.
Hamas Gives “Positive” Response To Truce Deal
Mediator Qatar says Hamas has given a “generally positive” response to a proposed truce deal with Israel, as the Palestinian group reiterated its demand for an end to the Israeli assault on Gaza.
Qatar has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a truce that would involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
During a press conference on Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described Hamas’s reaction to the proposal as “generally positive”, without providing more details.
Blinken said Hamas’s response to the proposal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States has been shared with Israeli officials.
Speaking to reporters in Doha on Tuesday, Blinken said the deal is “essential.”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done. But we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” he said.
Hamas said in a statement that its leaders had reviewed the “comprehensive ceasefire deal … with a positive spirit”, including details on securing relief and shelter, reconstruction, the lifting of a 17-year-old crippling siege, and the completion of the “prisoner exchange” process.
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